Ask a solicitor in your District Court

Asking is free and carries no obligation. If you engage the solicitor, their fees are agreed between you and them, and they must give you a written costs notice under section 150 of the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015. No solicitor pays CourtsWise for introductions: a sponsoring firm pays a fixed fee for its district that does not depend on your enquiry (Solicitors Act 1954, section 62), and the disclosure page says exactly how it works.

If your means are low and the charge is serious, yes, first: ask the judge at your first appearance, with a statement of means. A solicitor is then assigned at no cost to you. This site says so on every criminal guide. The form is for people who will not qualify, who want a solicitor of their own choosing, or whose matter is civil, family or licensing.

It depends on the matter, and this site says so page by page. A speeding notice is usually paid; a small claim is designed to be used without one; a drink-driving, no-insurance or assault charge carries a penalty the judge cannot go below or a record that follows you, and most people have a solicitor for those. A charge sheet, a missed date or an appeal with 14 days to run makes it urgent whatever the charge.

Only CourtsWise and the solicitor firm for your district. The form collects your name, email, the court district and courthouse, what it is about (the group only), where you are in it, a court date if you give one, the legal-aid answer, how you want to be contacted, a phone number only if you give one or ask for a call, and a short description only if you write one. Nothing you typed into a tool and no reading is collected. You can ask for deletion at any time.

Your enquiry reaches the solicitor for your district within a minute, with a reference number you keep. They contact you, usually within one business day, the way you asked. If your court date is within a week the enquiry is flagged as urgent. Whether you go further is your call.

The District Court is local. A solicitor who is in your courthouse every week knows its lists, its office and its judges' practice, and can be there on your date. Enquiries go to the firm that sponsors the pages for your district, or to the nearest one when a district has no sponsor yet; the disclosure page lists them.

Attend every date yourself, tell the judge, and ask for an adjournment and for legal aid. The legal aid page has the position and the steps. The form is here if you decide to engage a solicitor privately in the meantime.